Use this recipe (or your imagination) with shredded phyllo dough

"My sister and I were fortunate enough to have friends that brought us samples of some of the food from the Greek Festival, " J.B. wrote last year. "There was an awesome and unusual baked item. Looks like it was the large shredded wheat with pecans and sugar and not sure what else inside. The more you ate it, the better it was! Do you have a recipe?"

The organizers of this year's festival, which is May 28-30, were kind enough to share. Kataifi is a popular, traditional sweet, similar to baklava but made from shredded phyllo dough, which looks amazingly like shredded wheat. Like baklava, the dessert is very sweet and is good with black coffee.

You can buy kataifi frozen in packages at places that sell Middle Eastern foods. And like phyllo dough, you can play around with this stuff. I know chef Chris DeBarr has used it to make "grass skirts" on shrimp.

Kataifi

3 sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 pound frozen kataifi, thawed

4 cups chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon sugar

Brush some melted butter on the bottom of a 13- by 9-inch pan.

With your hands, shred half the kataifi on bottom of pan. Drizzle with butter.

Mix nuts, cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle on top of kataifi. Shred the rest of the kataifi on top and drizzle with remaining butter.

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, or until light brown. While kataifi is baking, prepare syrup (below).

Pour hot syrup on top of hot kataifi and cover with parchment paper, then foil. Let cool before cutting.

SYRUP

3 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine all ingredients; bring to boil and boil for 10 minutes.

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SEEKING RUMP ROAST WITH A BONE: "I have been looking for a bone-in rump roast for years, and it seems you can only get the boneless ones. My grandmother used to cook nothing but roast with a bone in it, and it made the best gravy you ever want to taste. Would it be possible for you to find out where I can get a roast with a bone in it? I would appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks." G.V., Slidell.

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MORE ON THE PIGSKIN "SOUNDS LIKE CUDINASSE" THING: V. sent the latest note on the mysterious stuffed rolls cooked in red gravy that we are trying to track down. Supposedly the name of it "sounds like cudinasse."

"I spoke to a neighbor of mine who married an Italian, and they lived in N.O. with the husband's family for a while, " V. writes. "She remembers buying pig skins from a Schott's wholesale meat packer, maybe on Poydras Street. There were about 25 skins in the box, 12 to 18 inches by 8 inches.

"She said they rolled the outside of the skin to the inside. That way any fat left would be cooked off before adding the rolled skins to the gravy. They added a piece of bacon to the inside, along with the other ingredients. She says all family members enjoyed eating the meal, but does not recall a name."

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LULU POWERS DOES HAM: "Lulu Powers Food to Flowers" by the Hollywood caterer to the stars is a just-published ($34.99, William Morrow) guide to easy entertaining. Powers writes that this mustard is a staple in her kitchen, delicious on chicken and fish or for dipping pretzels. It can be made up to two weeks ahead.

Spiral Ham with Lulu's Mustard

Makes 20 servings

1 16- to 18-pound cooked spiral ham

1/2 cup dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

11/2 cups cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the ham stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Make mustard. In a medium saucepan over low heat, mix dry mustard, black pepper, white pepper and cayenne with 1/2 cup water and heat slightly. Do not inhale the mixture as it will clear your sinuses.

With the pan still over low heat, stir in the vinegar, salt, sugar and butter.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and egg yolks together, then slowly whisk them into the mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. If the mustard becomes lumpy, pass it through a mesh strainer. The mustard can be stored, refrigerated in a sealed container, for up to 2 weeks.

Brush the ham with half the mustard and bake for about 1 hour, until the ham is heated through and the outside is carmelized and brown. Serve at room temperature with the remaining mustard.